Happy Anniversary

It is an unbelievable thought that 365 days have passed since I walked down the wysteria lane aisle at Wolf Lakes Park and Zac and I vowed in front of all of our friends and family to spend the rest of our lives together. It was an amazing day. The weather was beautiful, the grounds were gorgeous, and we were surrounded by so much love and happiness.

The morning of the wedding, the girls and I were picked up by a Jaguar limo (read about finding the rental here) that took us to the venue.

We arrived early in the morning and had plenty of time to get our hair and makeup done, drink champagne, and chat.

I felt very calm as we were getting ready. It wasn't until ten minutes before we were supposed to start the wedding that I started to freak out. I got a little clammy and thought for sure that I was going to throw up.

Everyone got a good laugh at my nerves. It wasn't the idea of marrying Zac that had me feeling sick. I couldn't have been more ready to marry my love. I've been in a few weddings but this was different, because it was mine. There was no doubt that eyes were going to be on me and that definitely freaked me out. Thankfully I had my girls to keep me laughing.

Before we knew it the time had come for the girls to line up because the boys were arriving on the boat.

I was shaking at the top of the ramp that led down to the ceremony space until I caught a glimpse of the boys coming off of the boat and saw my Zac take his place. After that I was fine. I remembered what we were doing and while I appreciated all of the people who had come out to support us and celebrate our love, Zac was the only one that mattered at that moment.

Our ceremony was just perfect. I seriously forgot that there were a bunch of people sitting in an audience listening to us. Zac and I held hands and I felt like it was just the two of us, talking to one another.

As part of the ceremony, Zac and I wrote notes to one another in addition to taking vows. It was an opportunity for us to tell each other how much we loved and appreciated one another and express how we each felt about our relationship.

I was the first to share my note with Zac:

My sweet Zac,

Seven years ago we went on a spontaneous first date. After spending 24 somewhat adventurous hours with you, I knew that it was pretty special, but I had no idea that it was the beginning of something THIS special. For the last seven years you have been my best friend, my lover, the constant in my life, and my home. But most importantly, you make me feel happier and more loved than I ever imagined possible. I am honored today to become your wife, the future mother of your children, and always your partner in any adventure we encounter. Thank you for loving me.

Zac's letter came next. I've always known him to be sweet and eloquent and although I expected him to say something amazing, I was still blown away by his message:

When I started writing my note to you, I began it like I always do with "Hi Sparkles!". I've probably done hundreds of notes that began that way, with your nickname, without ever thinking about where that nickname came from. How, seven years ago, my car broken down, sitting on the side of the road, middle of the night, you came out with a friend to sit and wait with me. We sat there in a comfortable silence with our chins on our knees and as the cars would drive by the lights would reflect off the pavement, the paint, and your shoes. Your psychedelic, sequined, super sparkly shoes. I had only just learned that the girl I'd been texting all week, the girl that I had called "mystery texter" because she wouldn't give me her name, was you. And as I sat there, half blinded by the neon spangles, I thought that "Sparkles" was a better fit. Seven years, two cars, and 47 pairs of shoes later, you still bring the color and the light in my life and are still the most interesting thing in the room, the side of the road, or anywhere. Our relationship has been comfortable and natural, devoid of hard decisions. Even at the beginning, the questions like "Should I call her back?" or "Do you think she'll want to go out again tomorrow night?" or "Should we move in together?" were so easy and so obvious, I never even asked them. I don't decide to breathe or to love you, Sparkles. I just do.

I mean seriously! How could I not cry after that?!

After our notes to one another, we exchanged rings and vows and sealed the deal with a kiss. Then it was time to celebrate!

It's been an amazing year and I'm so grateful for the wonderful relationship that I have with my Zac. As he said in his note to me, our relationship has always been comfortable. There is no doubt that we love each other but equally important, we LIKE each other and have respect for one another. I can't imagine my life without him and I'm so excited that our family is expanding.

Today we will be celebrating by cutting into the top tier of our wedding cake (wasn't it so pretty!) and enjoying a sparkling beverage in our toasting flutes. Though we have a bottle of almond champagne from our wedding chilling in our wine fridge, we'll be waiting to pop the cork until after our little one arrives. Some non alcoholic bubbly will have to do instead. We'll also be watching our wedding video. Thanks to Ahwahnee Films we have a wonderful record of our special day. (Check out how we came to find them here and hire them here.) We are so glad that we found such an amazing videographer to capture our day and couldn't be happier with the work that he did. To make it even better Aaron was fun to work with and we feel like we've made a new friend at the end of it. We highly recommend hiring a videographer. The end result was definitely worth the cost. Ahwahnee Films is based out of Orange County. If you're able to, you should check them out!

If you would like to check out the video and have 30 minutes to spare, just click on this link: Our Wedding Video (The video is private but we don't mind. You'll just need the password: enjoy)

If you would prefer to just check out the highlights from our wedding feel free to watch the ten minute version of the video in this post here. (No password needed.)

We hope you enjoy a glimpse into our day and I'll be sure to share more of our wedding details later. May your day be filled with as much love and happiness as ours is!

Inspired By Buble

About two weeks ago I wrote my vows while on break at work.

Yes, I realize that there are probably a few things that are weird about that sentence:

1.) The wedding is a few weeks shy of being a year away, which might seem a little too soon to be writing vows.

2.) Writing vows at work probably sounds far from romantic.

Both of these points can be explained by the fact that inspiration can come at anytime, and this case was no exception. I had no intention of writing my vows at work, epecially not on the back dock, sitting at a picnic table surrounded by some of my co-workers eating their lunch. So what drove me to write my vows right then and there?

I had just clocked out for my break and was headed outside to sit out my 30 minutes on the back dock when I heard this little tune play over the restaurant speakers:



Zac and I hold a special spot in our relationship for Michael Buble's crooning tunes. Mr. Buble has an amazing voice and his songs are always really romantic and fun. When we first started dating, the song "Home" held a special place for us. At that time, Zac was headed up north to his parents' ranch to work for a few weeks a month and it was definitely difficult to be away from each other. In case you've never heard the song....take a listen:

"Home" was the first song of Buble's that we had heard and we were pretty much hooked after that. We love listening and dancing to his Sinatra-ish sounds. On our 3rd anniversary we went to Gigi's Italian Restaurant (thanks to our friend Claire who got us a gift certificate as an anniversary gift). After being seated at our table the music changed and Buble started playing. His music played the whole time we sat in the restaurant enjoying our anniversary dinner. It was certainly just a coincidence (the music fit the vibe of the restaurant pretty perfectly) but it was a sweet little touch that made our dinner even more special.

From the first time we heard the song "Everything" it immediately became one of our favorites. The song can be found on our playlists for every road trip and is often playing on our radio while we prepare meals and eat at the table. Occasionally, we text each other a line or two when we're thinking of one another. We will definitely be dancing to this song on our wedding day but it will not be our first dance song. (Another song has been reserved for that special moment.) This song is also Zac's personalized ringtone on my phone, so I hear it everytime he calls. Needless to say, whenever I hear "Everything" I get a little happy and smiley (especially when I am at work).On this particular day hearing this song inspired me to put to paper the words that were swimming in my head.

When I thought about writing my vows, I never imagined myself sitting in my all white uniform penning those special words that I would say to Zac next year but, c'est la vie, that's what happened. As soon as I started writing I couldn't stop and before I knew it I was fixing my make-up (again I hate crying in public so at work a little mist was all that I would allow myself) and clocking back in with my vows tucked safely in my server book.

Even though those words are written on the back of a sheet of paper from my server pad, and will most likely be edited and added to over the next year, I am definitely keeping that original copy of my vows. They are a constant reminder to me of the love that Zac and I share and the exciting reality that in a year from now we'll be husband and wife.